Uhm…Hi. I'm a very frustrating person huh? I'm sorry, I keep writing a new story and dropping them soon after… It's never my intention. I either don't have time or I just lost my motivation. Just to reassure you, I will be finishing this story! This isn't going to be a long story, less than five chapters. I've already got my second chapter done and am currently finishing up my third chapter.
Naruto belongs to Masashi Kishimoto
"…-ey, HEY!"
Hinata ripped her eyes away from the book in alarm to see the owner of the loud voice. "Shhh! This is a library." Her soft voice matched the quiet atmosphere of the room.
Sasuke's brow twitched. He grit his teeth to refrain from screaming in rage. "I. KNOW. THAT. I've been calling ten times already. If you were deaf I could maybe overlook that, but it's obvious now that you aren't"
"Oh. I'm sorry..." Hinata mentally berated herself for making the same blunder.
She really looked surprised and apologetic, so Sasuke couldn't have the heart to chew her out even more. "Tch! Then don't make the same stupid mistake. Who even assigned you to this position?" All right. He had to let one more bark out.
Sasuke slid the book and his student handbook across the counter. "I want to check this out."
Hinata took the book and examined the front cover. "This is a good book. Mystery is a wonderful genre and one of my favori-…" She did the routine authentication and writing down who checked out the book. She continued rambling about the author and reviews it got.
Sasuke didn't care of what the book hermit was talking about and impatiently tapped his foot.
"…'akata-Sensei won several literary awards. Here you go." Hinata smiled, handing the book to Sasuke.
Sasuke grumpily snatched his items and made his way to the exit.
"I think you'll like that book, although it's clear who the killer is after the thirteenth chapter. Enjoy."
Sasuke froze in his tracks with his hand on the door. Sasuke frowned and looked back at the small girl behind the counter to see she had her nose in that damned book again.
"BWAHAHAHAHAH!" Naruto's laugh could be heard all throughout the school.
Sasuke scrunched up Naruto's front collar, lifting his gakuran up a bit. "SHUT UP DOBE!"
He wiped his tears of laughing too hard and fought for the release of his blazer. "But really! What's with your face? You've got eye bags and everything!"
Naruto stretched the bottom of his eyes to make a point. "You look terrible!"
Sasuke turned away from Naruto's mocking, knowing he would not live it down by the end of the day. Coming into the classroom, he saw the source of everything. Sasuke didn't know if that girl's challenge was a bluff or not, so it would be utterly idiotic to confront her about that.
-owo-
Sasuke slammed the book on the counter, not even bothering to voice his presence.
Hinata jerked in surprise and frowned at Sasuke. "That is school property."
"Just check out the damn book already." Sasuke casually threw his school handbook and a book towards her. "Also returning this."
Hinata sighed at his ruff mannerisms and accepted the items. "So, did you like it?"
"It was OK."
"Did you also solve the mystery in the end?" Hinata's voice perked in interest.
Sasuke scowled at her. "Yeeah…"
Hinata smiled. "Even though it was obvious, it is always enjoyable to read about the character development and pasts of each person."
Sasuke watched Hinata suspiciously that might show any hints of mocking. There were none. That just pissed Sasuke even more.
"You'll also like this one. There were some parts that are red herrings, but if you look for the important parts then the path is clear. Enjoy." Hinata handed the novel and handbook to Sasuke.
Sasuke's frown deepened.
"Dude, seriously. Why don't you get some sleep at night?" Shikamaru yawned. "Or yet, even in the day is fine."
"Shut. Up." Sasuke held a laughing Naruto in a sleeper hold, thinking which will kill Naruto first: him crushing his neck or oxygen deprivation.
-owo-
"You don't have to disrupt the peace now." Hinata stared, obviously showing that he had her attention.
Sasuke threw the books on the table without a care.
Hinata took them and inspected if there were any damages. "I really hope you don't sloppily toss around literature outside these walls."
Sasuke didn't care what she had to say about his handling of books. He never threw the books at home, no matter how irritated he was.
"I hope you would treat books with better care." Hinata scanned the barcode. "It's one of my favorites. The writing style really gives a good mental picture in your head. This story even had a gr-…"
"JUST SHUT UP ALREADY!"
Hinata's eyes widened in bewilderment, her mouth left agape.
"I've had enough of you chatting nonstop. Do you always try to put your expectations on everyone who comes here?! It's no wonder no one ever comes to the library. Just keep your damn comments to yourself!" Sasuke grabbed the books and stormed out.
The next day Sasuke slept better than he did the last week. There were some feelings of guilt, but he kept blaming the nosy library assistant for pushing him to blow his fuse. He looked over at Hinata reading in her seat like she always had. That set Sasuke's conscious to rest, knowing nothing had changed.
"Hey! Look who finally had a good night's rest?" Kiba smirked at him. "Now what is Naruto going to piss his pants for?"
-owo-
Sasuke bathed in the silence. The only noticeable sounds heard were quiet shuffling movements, the sound of a pencil scribbling.
Hinata handed the book to him without a word. Sasuke said nothing and took it, walking out without looking back at her.
-owo-
When he reached home, Sasuke fell on his bed and calmly paged through the book. A few pages into the first chapter, he closed the book. "What the hell! I can't believe it… DAMN! I can't concentrate or what?"
Sasuke tried again. He opened to where his finger acted as a bookmark. A couple of frustrating minutes passed before he dropped the book on the bed. "Crap… Now it's too quiet to read!?"
Sasuke kept stealing glances at Hinata whenever he had the chance. He kept wondering whether his words really affected her. So far, he couldn't tell what 'normal behavior' was for the girl. He only had the vision of her reading a book in the library. Right now, he saw no change from a few days ago.
"'ey. Whatcha lookin' at Hinata-Ch'n f'r?" Chouji stuffed a few more chips in his mouth.
"Hinata? Oh! That girl." Sasuke mentally berated himself for forgetting her name.
"Didja do somethin'?"
"No." Sasuke still had this feeling of guilt churning in his stomach. He held his abdomen at the strange sensation.
Chouji interpreted the action a different way and offered his chips. He swallowed the chips in his mouth. "Well, whatever it is. Hinata-Chan doesn't seem as cheerful anymore."
At the rejection of his chips, Chouji continued eating. "Sh's always be'n shy n' all, bu' somethin' don' fe'l right. Ya kno'?"
As much as Chouji's bad manners irritated Sasuke to hell, the gluttony fellow seemed to have a point. That just made his stomach hurt even more.
"How do you make a girl happy?"
Awkward silence filled the room.
"Are you sick, Sasuke?" Itachi reached to touch the younger's forehead.
Sasuke swatted the hand sharply. "I'm not sick! This is a serious question."
"All right. Tell me about it." Itachi sat on the couch comfortably. "I would love to tell you misleading advice like giving presents or roses, but you seem so desperate to ask me about this."
Sasuke sat on the adjacent comforter from the couch. "Let's say…You raised your temper to a girl and…well…what do you do?"
"I would never act that way." Itachi said pointedly. "Stop beating around the bush."
Sasuke seethed at Itachi's 'delicacy'.
"So, why do you want this girl to be happy? You never had a problem with making girls cry before."
That was true. Sasuke would reject four or five confessions a week. He would walk away when girls cried. He wouldn't bat an eye to a fallen girl because he's experience a lot of fake attempts to talk to him. And it wasn't the first time that he's yelled at a girl. So, why did Sasuke feel that he had to make right with Hinata?
"Are you in love?" Itachi yawned. Being Sasuke's love counselor was getting boring.
Love? That's ridiculous. Sasuke didn't move. He blankly stared at the flowers in the vase in front of him, though his mind wandered elsewhere in thought. He didn't even notice Itachi leave the living room and shut the lights off. Now he was staring off into complete darkness.
Author's Note: I don't mind if anyone uses my story as reference in their stories/art/etc. You don't have to ask for consent, only when I haven't finished a story and someone wants to adopt it. Although I'd like if you would site me somewhere and maybe I could look at it too? I'd love to read stories look at art inspired by my work.
I'd like to apologize to Simply Alexis. I don't check fanfiction and didn't see your review of adopting Ferris Wheel to a new story. It's been a year... I'm so sorry.